


Mission's Purpose

by whoneedsapublisher



Category: Star Wars Legends: Knights of the Old Republic (Video Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 01:00:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29234949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whoneedsapublisher/pseuds/whoneedsapublisher
Summary: Canderous has a question for Mission. It's a more serious issue than she'd expected.
Kudos: 7





	Mission's Purpose

“Hey kid.”

Mission looked up from sorting through her pazaak deck to see Canderous looming over her.

“ My name’s  _ not _ ‘ kid’,” she said, crossing her arms and glaring up at him. “It’s Mission. Mission Vao.”

Canderous snorted. “How about I stop calling you ‘kid’ when you can stand up to me in arm wrestling?”

“Oh, are you doing arm wrestling contests now?” Mission asked. “Guess I should let Big Z know.”

“If he ever wants to challenge me, I’ll put up a fight,” Canderous said. “But even I can’t beat a wookie.”

“Then I guess he gets to call you ‘kid’, huh?”

Canderous laughed. “You’ve got spunk,” he said. “That kind of fire is exactly what you need to be a real warrior. Alright. Mission it is, then.”

“Glad we’re agreed,” Mission said. “So what do you need anyway, big guy?”

“I had a question for you,” Canderous said.

“What is it?”

Honestly, it was a little surprising. Canderous wasn’t usually the kinda guy to come asking something like this. Sorta kept to himself unless you bothered him. Never seemed to have much interest in Mission, either.

“Why are you here?”

“Huh?” Mission asked. “Cause Oriah said she was taking Carth with her since his son is here, and she never goes anywhere without that droid she picked up on Tatooine, and since she’s infiltrating the Sith Academy she said she had to keep numbers low-”

“Not why are you here in this room right at this moment,” Canderous said, impatiently. “I mean, why are you here at all? Your homeworld may be dust, but there’s no end of planets we could have dropped you off on.”

“What, are you saying I’m not useful?” Mission said angrily. “You know, without me, Oriah woulda never gotten off Taris! Wouldn’t have even managed to get into the Vulkar base, and woulda been stuck wandering around the sewers lookin’ for another way in when the sith started dropping bombs.”

“I’m not challenging why she allows you to be here,” Canderous said. “You’ve proven your worth. I’m asking why you choose not to leave. You’re a smart girl, and you have a lot of skills. You’d hardly struggle to make a living as long as we dropped you on a planet with cities. And you _know_ that Oriah is soft enough to release the wookie from his life debt if you asked him to come with you. Even without him, though, you’d be fine. You said it yourself, after all- you were the one taking care of _him_ on Taris.”

“ I don’t wanna make Big Z do  _ that _ ,” Mission said. “A life debt’s a serious thing, you know? Even if Oriah doesn’t wanna enforce it. And I can’t just leave the poor lug here alone!”

“You’re making excuses, not giving me reasons,” Canderous said. “Think, girl. How many times have we been ambushed by Sith fighters? How many dark Jedi have turned their lightsabers on Oriah? How many times have we cheated death since we left Taris?”

“Well…” Mission said.

“ You’re risking your  _ life _ , Mission,” Canderous said. “The only people who risk their lives are those that have a reason that’s as important as being alive, or fools who don’t think they can die. And I’ve seen you in combat. You’re well aware that death shadows us all, and that no matter how many people call you a kid, you’re more than old enough to die.”

“Well… it’s cause I believe in her, you know?” Mission said. “Sure, sometimes it gets dangerous, but it’s gonna be dangerous all over if the Sith win! I don’t know much about trusting the Republic, considering they didn’t give a Bantha fart how bad Taris treated us aliens, but Oriah’s someone you can trust, you know? She’s always fighting to make things better, and I wanna help her win!”

“Hmm,” Canderous said with a nod. “That’s a good reason.”

He extended a hand. Mission stared at him for a moment, confused, before taking it.

“To our continued cooperation,” Canderous said, shaking her hand firmly. “One way or another, working with Oriah is bound to lead us to fights worth winning. And I’m glad you’ll have my back.”

“Same to you, big guy,” Mission said, grinning. “Just make sure you don’t die out there.”

“Oh, I can assure you, it’ll take quite a lot to take me down,” Canderous said.

He let go of her hand, and left her to her cards. They didn’t discuss the conversation again, but both of them remembered it. Whatever their reasons, they were both there for Oriah. Until the end.


End file.
